Redemption
by gotz-sk
Summary: When one has committed a crime, he must redeem himself. This is the story of a man who's only crime was being born different. [Oneshot]


This is a fic that is situated before the Naruto series so he has not made friends and is still shunned by the village. Anyways hope u enjoy : )

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Every night, Naruto would fall into a deep sleep after a hearty meal of ramen and sour milk. It was routine and he had done so for the majority of his life but tonight was different…

As he closed his eyes, he could see visions of a great beast with nine tails battling many ninja. The beast's power was incredible and it could kill numerous ranks of ninja with a mere swipe of its claws. He tried to move, tried to help those ninja battle the monster but he could not move from his place and he watched in horror as the monster kept on killing more and more men. Suddenly, from the ranks of the ninja, came a man clothed in the armour of a Hokage. All of the remaining ninja stepped aside and bowed as the lone ninja rushed forward to do battle with the beast. It seemed that even such a powerful ninja could not compare with the strength of this monstrous beast and Naruto gasped in horror as it slashed away at the armour of the Hokage. As the beast pulled back its claw to deliver the final blow, the lone ninja quickly bit his thumb and performed a series of hand signals. The air around him began to grow dark and the ghostly figure of a demon appeared behind him. Angrily, the beast charged in to attack but it roared in pain as the summoned demon reached into its chest and began to pull out its soul. The beast fought bitterly but even with its monstrous strength, it could not fight off this demon of the underworld. Quickly, the lone ninja called for a newborn child to be brought forward along with the Third Hokage. With his last breath, he transferred the sealed beast into the chest of the newborn and whispered some words into the ears of the Third. And so, it was thus that the Fourth passed on into the afterlife and left his legacy within the heart of a young newborn boy.

Naruto sat up violently as sweat dripped off his brow. There was no way that dream had been real and yet it was etched into his memory as if he had experienced the entire event first hand. Slowly, Naruto slipped out of his apartment and headed towards the Hokage's office. As he neared the office he could see the outlines of the four Hokage carvings that were etched into the mountain that surrounded one side of the village of Konoha. Staring up, he looked up at the carving of the Fourth and slowly placed a hand on his chest. A strange red light glowed from underneath his shirt and he lifted it up only to see the same symbol that was on the newborns chest! Reality hit him and he sat back in complete horror…he was the beast that had ruined the lives of so many ninja!

His entire life he had been alone without ever knowing his true parents. The villagers scorned him and they rarely ever even paid attention to him. He had tried to catch their attention by playing pranks but this seemed to agitate them even more. Even his peers at the academy shunned him and treated him as an outcast and he would always wonder why. Now that he knew the truth, it hurt even more to know that he would never be accepted. He was alone and he would always be alone. Salty tears fell from his face and stained the ground as he sank to his knees in despair. He had always felt alone but there had always been hope that people would care. However, now that he knew the truth, he knew there was no way that people would ever accept him. His only resolve was to run away and join another village to start a new life. Clenching his fists, he ran home and gathered a few items he deemed necessary for his journey before falling into a restless sleep on his bed.

As morning came and Konoha prepared for another busy day, Naruto sat in his room in complete misery. Spread out before him were his plans for escape from the only place he had ever called home. He decided that he would set out that night under the cover of darkness and make his way past the borders of Konoha. From there, he would join whatever village he could and maybe forget about his horrible past and the hatred that continuously surrounded him. The hours seemed to drag on forever and Naruto found himself looking out his window at the many citizens of Konoha who did not seem to care about him at all. Grabbing his head in his hands, he let the tears fall as his sobs echoed around the room. His heart cried out because he was lonely and scared but only the devil responded because no one was there.

Naruto spent the rest of the day reflecting on all the he had done in Konoha. As more and more memories came, he found more reasons for the villagers to hate him. First off, he always played pranks on everyone including the Hokage. He was always the worst in class and he made fun of Sasuke whom all the girls liked. Even Naruto's crush, Haruno Sakura, was madly in love with Sasuke and completely ignored Naruto or treated him lower than dirt. It hurt him even more that he could not name one person that truly cared about him. Once again, he buried his face in his hands and cried himself to sleep.

"Hokage-sama. We have word that Naruto was on your office roof last night staring at the Hokage statues and that he was not in class at all today. We suspect that he may be planning another prank."

"Hmmmm something is out of place here…It is not like Naruto to skip class and he usually plays pranks at night. I have a feeling that this my be more important than it seems."

"With all due respect Hokage-sama, I honestly don't care whether that boy rots in hell as long as he does nothing to harm the village."

"How can you say such things about the Fourth's legacy! It was not that child's fault that the Fourth chose him to be the Nine Tail's vessel"

"Forgive me Hokage-sama I meant no disrespect"

"Of course you meant disrespect! I am greatly disappointed in you! Dismissed!"

It was dark and quiet when Naruto woke up and most of the village had already gone to sleep. Quietly, Naruto snuck out of his apartment and ran off towards the main gate that separated him from his home and the outside world. Scaling a tall tree, he leapt over the gate and turned, taking one last longing look at the place he had once called home. Clenching his fists, he turned away and leapt off into the trees each step tearing at his soul and stabbing his heart until the tears began to flow. Slowly, he took a kunai from his belt and closed his fist around the blade allowing the pain to purge his mind of such painful memories. It was not the first time that he was alone and yet now he knew he could never go back and face them. He would die before that would happen…

"Hokage-sama! Sorry for the intrusion but one of the villagers just saw Naruto leave the village! They are all preparing to hunt him down and we cannot persuade them otherwise! Please help us Hokage-sama I beg of you!"

"I had a feeling this would happen" sighed the Hokage "That boy is in such pain and yet we continued to stab him in the back day after day. How can we, the family of Konoha, treat our own so poorly? It goes against everything we stand for and yet we are content to mistreat him. I wonder if it would not be better for all of us to repent before him."

"I am ashamed Hokage-sama. Please bring Naruto back so that I may ask his forgiveness."

"I will try and find Naruto. You must continue to try and stop them! Good luck!"

"Yes Hokage-sama! May you find him quickly!"

Naruto stumbled along aimlessly through the darkness before he finally sat below the trunk of a great tree. The pain had helped to clear his mind of the loneliness and yet his heart still cried out. Slowly, his eyes began to close and he drifted off into an uneasy sleep. The sound of footsteps and snapping twigs awakened him to the presence of many people approaching him. For an instant, he was almost happy that people had come looking for him but the angry shouts told him that they did not come because they wanted him back. Hanging his head in shame, he stood there and waited for the villagers to bring him back so that he would face his death among the angry stares of the public.

As expected, the large crowd of villagers burst through the trees carrying torches. There were civilians and ninja mixed in the crowd. Naruto could see many of his peers from the academy staring at him angrily.

"There's the demon fox!"

"He killed my husband!"

"He hurt my daughter!"

"Let's get him!"

Cries of approval were murmured throughout the crowd and Naruto could only hang his lower as he agreed with their accusations. The mob began to approach him their angry stares burning through his skin and reaching through to his soul. Just as they came within a foot of him, a sudden blur of white came in between the mob and their target.

"Stop!" cried the commanding voice of the Hokage. "Do you understand what you are doing! This boy has done nothing wrong!"

"But Hokage-sama! He has violated the rules of the village! Any ninja who leaves the village without notice must be put to death! That is the way of Konoha!"

"That may be true but we can make exceptions!"

"Why do you protect a monster like him Hokage-sama?"

Before the Hokage could respond, Naruto was at the Hokages side with his kunai at the Hokage's throat.

"You're right! I am a monster! I'm a god damned demon that has done wrong to almost every one of you! I have broken the law of Konoha and I am threatening the Hokage right now! I deserve nothing but death and yet I do not want to die here! I do not want to die in front of those that hate me! I want a peaceful death with people who actually cared about me! Don't worry though, I won't leave this world alone!"

"Hokage-sama!" cried the villagers in fear. "Please move away from him! He will kill you like the beast he is!"

At this Naruto simply laughed. "I did not mean I would kill your precious Hokage! I simply meant I would take this cursed fox with me to the grave!"

With that last comment, Naruto plunged the kunai deep into his chest. He welcomed the pain as if it were a drug to release him from the true hurt that he felt deep within his soul. He greedily accepted more as he stuck three more kunais into his body. Blood began to flow from his mouth and began to stain his orange blazer. Angrily Naruto ripped off the cursed orange garment even though the pain racked his body. Gripping the torn garment, he threw it on the ground leaving the symbol of Konoha stained with his blood. Laughing, he stared at everyone present and spoke his last words:

"I am no longer a ninja of Konoha! I die my own death as my own person and not the pawn of someone else!"

Then, he fell and it was as if every single person present had been touched by the hand of death. So cold were they that even the warmest of fires could not melt away the ice that surrounded their souls. Slowly, the Hokage walked over to Naruto's limp body and wiped the blood from his mouth before slowly standing up and turning to face the crowd.

Holding up his hand, he spoke to the crowd with such sorrow that not even the most heartless of men could not cry.

"Do you see this? This is the blood that is on all of our hands. It was we who killed Naruto. It was our fault that he ran away. When the Fourth died, he wished for Naruto to be treated with respect as the guardian of the Nine Tails and we treated him as the beast himself. I am too ashamed to call myself Hokage let alone a ninja of Konoha for we have commited the worst of crimes. We have forsaken one of our own as we promised we would never do. We were supposed to be a family and yet we shunned him. I cannot say that I know his pain for I have never been alone before. In fact none of you here can say that you have felt what he felt. His whole life he grew up without a mother and father and already a part of him was missing. Instead of helping to heal him we continued to hurt him with our angry stares and cold comments. Many a day I would see the children of Konoha playing games and having fun and yet Naruto always sat out in the distance. Every single day he would play pranks and jokes to catch our attention but we would only hate him more. I believe that he is better off in heaven where our angry cries and hateful stares cannot reach him. Only god knows how many tears he must have cried and I repent for every single one! Naruto, if you are watching over us right now I beg of you, please forgive me for my sins!"

Slowly, the Hokage sank to his knees and whispered a prayer to the body of the boy who was always alone. Tears were falling like rain and every villager man, woman, or child was weeping for the death of their comrade whom they had so mistreated. One by one, they all sank to their knees and prayed.

The whole village of Konoha was silenced for a week and there was no laughter or happiness. Everyone mourned the death of Naruto and for years to come, there would be a week of silence to remember the pain that Naruto had felt during his short life. As a final act to commemorate the young boy, the Third Hokage had his face carved into the mountain next to the four Hokages. Some people say that the carving is watched over by Naruto's spirit as his face is smiling when there is peace in the village but when someone has been mistreated, his smile mysteriously turns into a frown.

Such is the story of the boy who died at the hands of the village of Konoha…Such is the story of the boy who was not accepted…Such is the story of one who achieved redemption…

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Thank you and I hope you guys follow the 3 R's: Review, Review, and Review XD bye for now!


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